Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Advice in the InBox

This is one of those things that gets forwarded around, and in the office it arrived in an allstaff email from someone. I think people liked it. I saw it printed out on the printer tray, and it probably got push-pinned to some bulletin boards. I took it way beyond that and decided to pick it apart and throw it out there for discussion. [My comments are in brackets and italics]

Health1. Drink plenty of water-- [I don't drink enough water, for sure. Water is good. Plastic bottles are not so good though.]2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar-- [Good advice, I think, but there's no way I can do it this way except on weekends.]3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants-- [Agreed! But I'm not going to make my own pasta. I also like v-8 juice, cereal, pickles, beer and chips.]4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy-- [What could it hurt? Eh?]5. Make time to pray-- [Define "pray." will meditation work? OK. Let's move on.]6. Play more games-- [Games? Not head games, or violent real or video games, or games where something dies in the end, or died to make the game possible. I guess I reject this advice without some clarification.]7. Read more books than you did in 2009-- [Read, read, read. It doesn't have to be books. Read instruction manuals, nutrition panels, contracts, liner notes and movie credits.]8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day-- [This couldn't hurt. Really.]9. Sleep at least for 7 hours-- [Great. Not going to happen though. I'm doing well to get 5 hours.]10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, SMILE-- [I am pretty sedentary. That's bad. I know.]

Personality1. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about2. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment3. Don't over do. Keep your limits.4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.6. Dream more while you are awake7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.12.· Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.13. Smile and laugh more.14. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...-- [I am not sure any of these are worth picking apart. They are all reasonably OK. What do you think?]

Society1. Call your family often.-- [OK, I think this really depends on the family relationships and the reason for the calls. If you have a functional family and are calling to express love and/or support, go for it.]2. Each day give something good to others.-- [...unless it's a Bible tract, a Watchtower magazine, advice on their love life. One man's treasure is another one's trash.]3. Forgive everyone for everything.-- [Wow, that's loaded. Should there always be forgiveness? for everything? That's a real question.]4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.-- [The age of the person doesn't matter. All ages have something to offer, and all ages need others.]5. Try to make at least three people smile each day.-- [My mother would say she didn't care if people were laughing at her or with her, as long as they laughed. Not sure if she really meant that.]6. What other people think of you is none of your business.-- [Now, that's a good point.]7. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.-- [If you have friends who will take care of you when you are sick, then you are lucky.]

Life1. Do the right thing!-- [Of course!]2. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.-- [Another loaded one. Can "necessary" be exchanged for those 3 terms?]3. GOD heals everything.-- [I am taking the atheist exemption on this one.]4. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.-- [Seems true enough.]5. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.-- [...unless it's the flu, then stay home, and hopefully nobody will force you to work while too sick. Seriously, I have my doubts on this one. Sometimes being in bed, slobby, and home is preferred.]6. The best is yet to come...-- [We can only hope.]7. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.-- [...again, I waive participation... and how do you awake dead?]8. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be HAPPY ALWAYS-- [Happy is great. Sadness has its virtues too. I'm generally happier than I used to be. That's because I'm older and more resigned that I'm probably living in the midst of my destiny, and it's OK. I'm also fine with not having the answers. Nobody else does either.]